


Back Into Focus

by Katbeanx2



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst, Jealousy, M/M, Sex, not really angst, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-01-02 09:55:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbeanx2/pseuds/Katbeanx2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Jonathan Toews, hockey has always seemed to be at the center of his life. He didn't think about dating or what the rest of his life was going to be; not until one fateful night in a cold Canadian city. His cycle of pass, shoot, score was broken by their goalie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jonathan Toews is not Jealous!

He admits it, it was a shitty game. They should have won, they really should of, and as captain, he felt the nearly all of the burden on his shoulders. The silence of disappointment slowly started to sink in as they entered the locker room. Every one of their faces looked like death, and Johnny hated it. He knew he couldn’t do anything about it, he couldn’t change the way they played, but he could try to be a good captain. 

“Hey, spread it around, first round of drinks on me,” he mumbled to Hoss, knowing alcohol was probably the only thing that would get the depressed look off of all of their faces. It traveled around quickly, some people nodded, wanting to head to the nearest bar and forget this playoff game ever existed. Forget that they were that close. Others just shook their heads, wanting to wallow in shame by themselves. And of course there were those who teetered on the edge, but eventually gave in and showed at this unfortunately happy bar in Vancouver. Nearly everybody came, a few rookies ditched of course, but Johnny was a little happy they didn’t show up. They didn’t understand the rush of the win, and what it would have meant.But everybody here did, and they wanted that again, they craved reliving that last parade, the last time they won the cup, but that wasn’t going to happen, and that was the last sober thought of the night as he chugged down a beer in two seconds flat.

The night quickly became one huge blur that had certain events that stuck out in his mind, one of them being the bill that the team had racked up, even though he only offered first round. Guess you could always count on your team for either being major assholes or the best guys you'll ever meet... He remembered Kaner mumbling a “Thanks Captain” before knocking back his first of many shots. Johnny kept a close eye on him, feeling like he was obligated to do so. He remembered Sharpy calling Abby and promising her he wouldn’t get into too much trouble. They all knew he wouldn’t. He remembered the countless frowning faces and the constant woes of “If I would have done this...” or “If I didn’t screw that up...we could of...we would of.” 

And then there was the event that stuck in his mind the most, and he never understood why. It was Crawford and Campoli, in a secluded corner of the bar. Crow had his head wrapped in his arms down on the table and just shook it every few seconds. He looked like he was arguing with himself. Campoli had a comforting hand on Crow’s back (or possessive in the captain’s mind) , rubbing it lightly with a face full of both sorrow and anger. 

Johnny was entranced by the scene, and he felt a pang of something in his chest. Some drunken emotion that his sober self would never allow to be unearthed. It took him way too long to figure out what it was, and even longer to act on it, but it was a strong emotion that reminded him of being childish. Of wanting something somebody else has because you think they have it better or it is rightfully yours. 

He stepped closer, making sure to stay somewhat concealed by the crowd. Even at this level of intoxication he knew eavesdropping was frowned upon. Slowly he was able to put together phrases like “Corey...Its not your fault..that shot shouldn’t of happened...I should have stopped him before he took it...” Corey? They know each other that well? We all just call him Crow... “But you will never be the one who let that puck in...none of you get that...YOU will never feel the guilt of letting that last shot in, or any shot for that matter...” Campoli just sighed, moving his hand up gently to ruffle Corey’s hair.  
“Kid, you need to calm down, we’ll get another chance,” he said.  
“We would have had one this year if I didn’t fuck up...” he mumbled back.  
“Do all goalies do this or what?”  
“I don’t know...I don’t really care...Its my fault...”  
“Corey...just stop thinking that, I swear its a goalie thing. The fate of the team isn’t all you.”  
“Yes it is...I let a goal in and we lose, simple enough.  
“But the puck wouldn’t of been there if you had a defense to back you up.” Campoli said, finally getting Crawford to calm down and see a little of the truth.

Again, Johnny never understood why he didn't walk over there to comfort him as well. It was his job as captain, right? But he didn’t, he stood right there, watching Campoli have his little shining moment. He lost track of the conversation for a minute, but started to clue in again when Campoli cracked some kind of joke and Corey let out a small giggle. Then he must have added onto that because the goalie then sat up with his full out classic grin, trying to hold in the laughter. Johnny looked as him, a smile growing on his face as he saw the sadness drain out of Corey’s. Then Campoli continued, obviously just as entranced by his sweet smile.  
“Hey kid, I have an idea to take your mind off this game,” he said with slight caution. This made both Crow and Tazer lift up their eyebrows in curiosity.  
“And what would that be?” the goalie asked.  
And in one swift and somehow subtle motion he gave Corey a quick kiss on the lips and moved his hand that had drifted from his back to his shoulder down to his hip. Corey just gaped for a minute, obviously understanding this was an invitation. There was a few seconds of awkward silence between the two before Corey slowly nodding his head, a hesitant smile rising on his face. Campoli’s face moved into shock at first and the joy, as he gave Corey another quick peck as a promise of something more for later.  
Oh hell no!

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey, Guys! Just wanted to say thanks for reading...or scrolling...whatever... Sorry it is a short chapter, I'll add more obviously. Its just an idea that popped into my head and I felt like I needed to get the first chapter up to keep me inspired. Enjoy!


	2. Complications Arose, Ensued, and were Overcome

He didn’t follow them. He just couldn’t bring himself to it. First of all, he would have to explain that he was listening on the conversation. Next off, what the hell would he say. “Hey Corey, you can’t go sleep with who you want because I feel jealous...not that I like you or anything...cause I don’t... ,” did not seem to be the way to go. And of course add some drunken slurring to that and there was no reasonable way to approach stopping them. So he watched them walk out. Watched them smile to themselves and then at each other before opening the doors into the cool air. Johnny just growled to himself, he made a mental note not to go back to the hotel anytime soon, he didn’t want any part of it he decided. 

They were both grown men, they could make their own decisions, he’d let them start something and they would have to finish it eventually. Playing relationship counselor was not in the job description of capitain. Then again, this mostly only applied to Campoli. In a weird way, Johnny felt just as responsible for Corey as he was for Patrick, even though the goalie was older. Honestly, his personality did not match his age. He was still a little naive and it wasn't just his baby face (though that did contribute). I mean did he just not feel like aging? His face probably hasn’t changed since he was 18! He just grew beard! Johnny huffed at the thought...he really was like a kid...and as soon as he thought this a huge wave of guilt rushed over him. He probably should have stopped them...

Unfortunately, he felt like the only way he could make this up to himself was to protect the other “kid” he was in charge of. He quickly scouted out Kaner, hopping into the bar stool next to him. He decided he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Kaner, he was under his protection. Johnny tapped him on the shoulder and he slowly turned around. At first, Kaner started to giggle, obviously having more than one too many shots, then he started to frown. Its like he was upset to see Johnny or something.  
“Did Crow leave?” he asked in a very slurred manner. Tazer gave him a look of confusion.  
“What..?” he asked for clarification.  
“You were watching him earlier... I think...”  
“Um...yeah I was...I wanted to talk to him... he kind of pissed me off so I left and let him make a stupid decision,” Johnny lied. Though it wasn’t a total lie, Corey did do something that pissed him off, and he did make it a stupid decision, it just wasn’t as harsh as he had made it sound.  
“He go off with Campoli?” Kaner asked next, and Johnny just widened in surprise, clearly giving the message of ‘How the hell do you know!?’ And on cue, Kaner answered.  
“Campoli’s been trying to..well you know...for months...” Johnny just raised an eyebrow.  
“You seemed to be the only one who didn’t see it, well you and Crow.”  
“Right...” Johnny mumbled. He should have taken this as a sign of something. A sign that he focused in on Corey a little too much. A sign that Kane had a weird watchful eye. A sign that this was all one big problem..   
“What do you...I mean how do you feel about Crow?” Patrick asked hesitantly.  
“He’s cool I guess. He acts like more of a kid than you sometimes,” he said, making sure not to dig any deeper. “Makes my job as captain a little harder in that way, I can’t babysit. And he’s a goalie...”  
“So you don’t like... feel anything for him?”  
And that’s when he stopped. It seemed like the impossible question. There was no way on earth he had feelings for Crow, no way. He was a goalie for god’s sake.It was as simple as that and he, at this moment in a slightly drunken haze was not going to dig any deeper, so he didn’t, he said what he was supposed to like a good captain would.  
“No. Other than a fatherly, guardian sort of mentor position, no.” he said slowly, weighing the words and how they made him uneasy. Kaner didn’t respond and just smiled and sat on the bar stool. Johnny sat there next to him, feeling like he swallowed a rock. There was some on feeling in the pit of his stomach and he just couldn’t pinpoint it, not in this condition.  
“Hey captain,” Kaner finally spoke up. Johnny just replied with a nod and a light hum.  
“You look like you could use something to get your mind off this whole thing.”  
“What thing...?” he mumbled, not able to zero in on exactly just one problem he wish he could erase.  
“The game, the sad faces, the ever growing tab you set up that is putting you in debt,” Patrick joked. Again, Johnny just nodded.  
“I can help,” he then continued. “I have an idea, just...close your eyes for a second...” And he did.  
Now a sober Johnny would have seen this coming from a mile away, but drunk Johnny was jolted with a shock as Kane’s lips quickly met his in a careful kiss. Immediately his eyes shot open and he broke away with a look of confusion so deep you could drown in it.   
“Patrick...” he said. Not in a scolding way, but in a “wtf” sort of way.  
“Let’s follow in their footsteps,” was all he said. Johnny raised an eyebrow at this.   
“Crawford and Campoli,” he said, and all Johnny could feel was that weird emotion again that was NOT jealousy.  
“What?” was all he managed to squeak out.  
“I’ve wanted to...I mean if you don’t...It was...I tried...” Kaner just started to stutter out. He looked scared as hell, and it pushed Johnny over his normal, level headed edge. He figured if Campoli could get away with it, he could. He was only doing his friend a favor, right? A way for both of them to forget... That’s all he wanted... This entire night, gone.   
“No Kaner, its fine, you’re right, lets do it, I’m in,” he finally said. Kane widened his eyes but then smirked, his entire frame loosening up.   
“Just one more shot captain,” he said, ordering one round for each of them. They took them at the same time. That is where things went from fuzzy to downright impossible to see. Where judgement became unnecessary. And most of all, where a friend, the wrong friend, became something more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sometime Just before the 2012-13 Season...

“Patrick! This can’t fucking work out!”  
“Give me one damn good reason why it can’t Johnny!” Patrick screamed, shoving Johnny’s shoulder with a death glare plastered on his face.  
“You can’t commit! You can’t mentally get yourself out of college or some shit!” he shot back, he was already so done with this, he was just going through the motions.  
“And what’s that supposed to mean!?” Patrick shot back defensively.  
“It means you feel like you need to fuck everybody and everything good looking! You just want sex!” Well...at least he got it out...  
“That’s not true!”  
“Really!? So why is it every time we break up, you have a new ‘friend’ within seconds!? You’ve hardly even met half these people and you’re already in bed with them!” Johnny shouted, so done with this again.  
“Maybe its because I have a boyfriend that can’t make up his mind if he want me or not! Maybe its because I have a boyfriend that gets all possessive and comes crawling back to me everytime he sees me happy with someone else!” Ouch...that one hurt, Johnny admit.  
“Or maybe its because you don’t have a boyfriend at all now!” He said, a little calmer, feeling some weight lifting off his chest. But it was always like this, the weight would come crawling back in. He grabbed his jacket, throwing it on and heading to the door. Whatever he brought over was staying here, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction that he even cared. Just as he swung it open he heard Kaner snort.  
“You always come right back...” he mocked.  
“Not this time Patrick,” he snarled as he walked right out and slammed the door behind him.   
He was so sick of it, so fucking done with it.This happens to them all the time, and it just keeps escalating. Its like when they are playing a team that just keeps shooting and scoring and the hole just gets deeper and deeper and you know there is no real way to pull yourself but your messed up thoughts keep telling you there is some hope. Well he has been living on that stupid little hope for almost two years or some shit like that. He doesn’t even know, its just some vicious cycle.  
And every cycle had some kind of starting point. He could never get the details of that night just right. There were only certain things that stood out. One being he was stupid enough to fall for Kaner’s tricks. Later on he found out that Kaner wasn’t really drunk when he said all that, he planned it. Which. okay fine, wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, but he felt like he was taken advantage of. He remembered thinking, while Kaner was sleeping in his arms that night, that this might actually work. He could be happy, he could forget. Kaner and him could actually be more, well what a hell of a thought that was.  
He walked to his car, the sounds of Chicago filling his already crammed head. He kept replaying that night over and over in his head as he slipped into the front seat, trying to figure out where the hell he was going to go. He sure as hell wasn’t going to go home, he might destroy what furniture was in his little apartment. He hated to admit it, but he kind of needed a babysitter at the moment.   
“Who the hell is in town...” he mumbled to himself as he pulled out onto the already crowded road. And then another flash of that night came to him and answered his question. He picked up his phone and dialed the number he rarely did. It’s not like he didn’t talk to him, because he did, he just wasn’t very good at keeping in contact with his team over the summer. He listened to his phone ring, praying that there would be an answer, because he didn’t want to find an alternative.   
“Hello?” a voice answered, sounding slightly tired.  
“Corey, can I stay over tonight?” he asked, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.  
“Johnny? Um... I mean I guess so... I haven’t really unpacked and stuff...” he said, slowly mumbling off.  
“I don’t care, I’ll be over in like twenty minutes, okay?”   
“Is everything okay?” Corey asked. Oh shit...   
“Yeah... I mean... I’ll tell you later.” Great, now he had to explain about Kaner and the whole thing. He’d probably even have to explain why the hell he was watching Corey in the first place that night. He didn’t feel like doing that. He still hadn’t explained that to himself...  
“Is it Kaner?” he suddenly asked. Well at least that took out some of the explaining...however the hell Corey knew.  
“Twenty minutes, okay?” he said, he wasn’t talking about this on the phone.  
“Okay captain,” Corey said with a sigh and a small laugh, hanging up the phone.  
Almost exactly twenty minutes later, Johnny pulled up in front of the complex, parking and making it up to Corey’s room without thinking about anything too much. He knocked lightly, not bothering to say anything, because, who else could it be. The door opened Corey stood in front of him. He slipped his way in with a small hello and Corey closed the door behind him.  
“Johnny?” Crow asked quietly, expecting some sort of reasoning for the visit.  
“Later, okay?” Johnny said, automatically setting down his bag with some clothes for tomorrow next to the couch.  
“But I’m worried...we never hang out...you never really...I mean...that came out wrong...” Corey just sighed, sounding beyond frazzled. Johnny finally turned to look at him and was a little surprised at what he saw. He looked tired, like more than normal tired. He looked a little skinnier, not dramatically thankfully. But overall he just looked beat, like something was seriously bothering him.   
“And it looks like I should be worried about you,” he said as he felt the captain instincts (or that’s what he thought it was) kicking in.   
“I...um...” he mumbled as he looked down at the floor. “I’m fine, don’t worry, I’ll play just fine."  
“I’m not worried about you play, I’m confident about that, but you look like...When is the last time you actually slept?” he asked.   
“Last night,” the goalie answered quietly.  
“Like really, really slept.” And that was only answered by a shrug. Johnny sighed and shook his head. “Thats really not good for you, you know? Sleep is kind of important,” he said.   
“I know, I know,” he mumbled as he walked over to the floor in front of the couch, plopping down on the floor and leaning his head back on the couch. Johnny just rolled his eyes and sighed, he wanted to know what the hell was going on, and the indirect way wasn’t working. He walked over to the other side of the couch (where the goalie’s head wasn’t) and sat down, looking at Corey with a tight frown.   
“Alright, what the hell is going on?” he finally asked, feeling like playing therapist could take his mind off everything.  
“Nothing,” Crow answered in a monotonous voice, keeping his eyes closed as his head still lolled back.  
“My ass its nothing Crow. I’m your captain, you can tell me.”  
“I’m pretty sure being captain has nothing to do with consoling your goalie on lockout...”  
“Fine, then I’m worried, as a friend Corey. Fair enough?” Corey sighed at this. Johnny figured he realized that he had no way out of it now.  
“Didn’t you come here to tell me about Kaner and how you two are fighting again?” the goalie spat out, a small smirk on his face as he dodged the question effectively.  
“Okay, yes, but answer this question first,” Johnny bargained.  
“Nothing is wrong!” he snapped.  
“No, no... not that,” we will get to the later he thought.  
“Oh...then what?”  
“How do you know about me and Kaner?”  
“Its kind of obvious, don’t you think?” No, Johnny though. Thats why I asked you...  
“No, really, how.”  
“I’m just good with that sort of thing, okay? And I knew you guys fought a lot because you played differently like once every few months. You took way harder shots in practice and Kaner was quicker, like you guys were trying to show off...or something angry...”  
“Okay...but how did you find out in the first place? Were we that obvious, Does Quenneville know?” Johnny said, really freaked out by how perceptive their goalie could be when he wanted to be.  
“No...um..” the goalie stalled, opening his eyes and looking up an Johnny with a slight blush before closing his eyes again. “When we were on the road at some point my room was right next to yours...you guys aren’t very quiet...” Oh god...thats how he found out? Johnny face lit up red.   
“Oh..” was all he was able to squeak out. He felt like he took some part of like making Corey lose his innocence or some crap. Like he dirtied the mind of their goalie, I mean he was pretty sure he had done worse with Campoli and obviously with Razor but still. Then it dawned on him.   
“You son of a bitch,” he suddenly said, sitting straight up. Corey just looked up at him with a raised brow.  
“Excuse me?” he said in a mock offended tone.  
“You’re trying to console about my relationship when yours is falling apart.” Corey just narrowed his eyes, like he didn’t fully grasp what Johnny was saying yet.  
“Emery,” was all he said, and Corey visibly cringed, and Johnny knew he had hit it.   
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he said loudly, because it wasnt quite yelling.  
“Because you would say I told you so...” Corey mumbled, taking his head off the couch and leaning it on his palms, looking at the floor. THe problem with this is that it was true. Unlike him and Kaner, the whole team knew the two goalies were dating or whatever it was they were doing. They never really said anything, they just knew. And Johnny had gone up to Corey, knowing what he and Kaner had gone through, telling him not to do it. He told him Emery was not the kind of guy to be doing this with, because well, he wasn’t. He told him it was just a dumbass idea, but of course he didn’t listen, and the feeling in the room right now greatly reflected that.  
“So go ahead and say it,” Corey said, a tone of sadness dragging through his voice as if the memories were flooding back. The goalie let out a loud sigh, shaking his head, mumbling something along the lines of “because you did...”  
“There’s already two assholes in this conversation, and I’m not about to make a third. We knew he wasn’t right for you, the bulk of the team, and I’m sorry you had to find out in whatever way you did,” was all Johnny could say after he composed some put together thoughts. Corey just nodded and let out a small sound that resembled trying to hold tears back in.  
The sad silence hung around the room for a good minute or two before anybody was ready to say anything. Corey finally broke the silence.  
“Do you finally realize Patrick isn’t right for you?” he asked, turning his head to look Johnny straight in the eyes, and the look gave him a chill. The goalies face was so full of hurt and his eyes weren’t teary, but they might have well as been. He was always the first to smile, and he had a great smile. His smile took up most up his face, and that was the Corey he had come to know, but this was just scary.  
“What the hell did Razor do...” Johnny whispered and Corey just shook his head and sighed.  
“Alright Johnny,” he said slowly, as if he was thinking about it. “I'll tell you, but you have to answer all my questions first, then I’ll answer whatever you want.” To Johnny this was a no brainer, Corey couldn’t come up with anything that bad, right? He was all wide eyed and innocent and kind... minus the cursing in French sometimes...that was bad...  
“Yeah sure, no problem, fire away. But,” Johnny added, making sure this didn’t turn into some heart spilling sort of conversation. “We each only get three questions, deal?”  
“Deal,” the goalie said, hopping up on the couch and facing Johnny. The captain turned his body to match. They were face to face, both their backs up against opposite armrests and feet invading in the middle. Well Corey was slightly more scrunched up, because, he could do things like that, Johnny was a little stiffer and took up more room.  
“I’m first,” Corey said quickly after they settled. “What do you and Kaner even fight about all the time?”   
“That’s your first question?” Johnny asked, raising an eyebrow. Corey just nodded his head like a little kid, pulling his knees into his chest to match.   
“Um, mostly its about the fact that I think he can’t commit. The first fight was about how he didn’t actually want to date, that he just wanted like connected one night stands. So then he went and fucked someone else, I felt jealous so I asked him back, he followed along. It kinda just repeated and went on and on, but now I think I’m finally done, time to break the cycle,” he finished. Which was good because he didn’t feel too emotionally distraught, that was a good sign right?  
“Alright,” Corey drawled out, like he was thinking about it. “Next, when did you guys first get together?” Okay, easy enough.  
“That night we lost to Vancouver in the playoffs, when we all went to that bar,” he said, looking over at Corey. The goalie’s body language shifted completely, he looked disgusted and disoriented at the mere mention of that night.   
“Guess that makes two accidental hook-ups that night,” Corey mumbled under his breath, probably sure Johnny didn’t hear it. Campoli was all that came to mind, for both of them he bet.  
“Alright, finally, what made you do it in the first place? What made you think it was a good idea?” Oh shit...Johnny realized he himself didn’t actually have an answer for that. Was it the fact that he felt anger that somebody took advantage of Corey’s loss? The fact that Kaner played great all season and Johnny loved him as more than a brother? The overall shittieness of the night? The alcohol? Only one of those sounded good enough to tell Corey so...  
“Boose, way too many drinks, it all just fell into place and it kept rolling down hill from there...”  
‘Oh...” Corey said, like he was expecting more, and at that moment Johnny though that Corey knew. He was ready to shout in his defense, I wasn’t listening to you and Campoli. I don’t care about who you hook up with, I wasn’t jealous. Of course, that was just defense, it wasn’t necessarily true.  
“Well, on that note, my turn...” he continued on.  
“Oh yeah..” Corey mumbled, sighing. He obviously knew Johnny could knew a lot more damage with his questions, and he was right.  
“How the hell did Emery convince you to go out with him? Like he isn’t that charming or anything...” Johnny asked, feeling like keeping the mood light would prevent any emotional dam to break, because honestly he wasn’t ready for that. Corey was probably the only person who had consistently fixed his own emotional problems and left the captain alone. Which is what scared Johnny about this situation, he’d never seen anything like this out of his goalie before.  
“I, um,” he stuttered, as if he was searching for the right words. “At that point my expectations weren’t that high. I was looking for anybody at that point, I had hit a low point and i was willing for anything to lift me up. I’ve never had much luck with relationships, so I thought why the hell not, it can't, get any worse, right?” he said, chuckling darkly at the last part, and that scared Johnny even more.  
“Right...” Johnny said with a tinge of guilt. If he would have know that Corey was at a low spot he could have helped, why didn’t he come to him? “Um, next...” he said as he started to think, then Crow yawned and sort of leaned back remind Johnny of how tired and skinny he looked. “I honestly just have one more question, what the hell did he do to you?” he said stiffly, he was going to get an answer and kick the backup goalies ass.   
‘That is kind of broad...”  
“Answer me.” Corey sighed at this, drawing his legs a little closer and placing his head on his knees, effectively cutting off any possible eye contact.  
“He was an asshole. A bitchy, dominant, mother fucking asshole, and I let him be that way,” was all he said at first, with such a bought of anger that was also like nothing Johnny had ever seen. He let that sit for a minute before speaking again.  
“He made me feel sort of worthless, which I thought I was at that point. He just took advantage of me, and I didn’t realize that until recently. Like in front of everybody, he was perfect and nice and did what he was supposed to, but behind the scenes he was just...” he paused there again. “Remember that time I didn’t start far a huge chunk of time, he did?” And yes, Johnny remembered it well, they all did. “He actually made me believe I deserved that, that I wasn’t good enough. I could have done so much better if I had just listened to my gut and not him. He would always put me down and I didn’t enjoy it but I was just so used to it...I don’t know Johnny...I just don’t know...I’m an idiot...” he finished, and Johnny could hear the tears starting to form in his voice.  
“He wasn’t abusive or anything like that...right?” Johnny finally asked as Corey kept balling up tighter. Johnny wasn’t sure if he could ever forgive himself if he had let him go through that. Corey just show shook his head, taking deep breaths to calm himself.   
“I’m sorry,” Corey said eventually, and this surprised him.   
“For what?”  
“To spill this all on you when you’re going through it too...just sorry.”  
“I asked...Its my fault here,” and Corey just shrugged. He still wouldn’t look up at Johnny, he looked a little looser, but his frame just looked beaten. He needed rest, and Johnny was going to be a good friend and make sure he got it.   
“Come on Crow,” he sighed. “Enough of this for one day...” he continued as he stood up, yanking on the sleeve of Corey’s shirt. His head popped up, and his eyes were a little red, but there was just depression etched in his tired face. Johnny pulled him off the couch and made him stand up, dragging him to his room.   
“What...?” Corey just vaguely asked.   
“You need sleep,” was all Johnny said. “No arguing.” He pulled Corey into his room and grabbed a sleeping bag from the closet as the goalie through on a t shirt and some sweatpants to sleep in.   
“You can sleep in here you know,” Corey finally said as Johnny wrestled with the sleeping bag.  
“You sure, I don’t want to make it awkward,” although a bed did sound better than the floor.  
“Yeah I’m sure,”he chuckled, a small smile cracking on his face. Johnny couldn’t help but smile back. Corey crawled into bed first, and Johnny was pretty sure he fell asleep as soon as his face hit the pillow. Unfortunately, instead of having a peaceful sort of look, he looked distraught in his sleep. Johnny quickly climbed into bed next to him, maybe he was having nightmares or something to keep him up. That backup goalie was so not going to make it to the beginning of the season. Johnny wrapped an arm around his waist instinctually, just as a comfort thing. He convinced himself in had no meaning.  
All he remembered after that was slowly dozing off, Corey gradually moving closer into him, their bodies next to eachother. Honestly, Johnny can say that was the best night of sleep he had in his entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have absolutely nothing against Kane of Emery. Personally I love Kane, it just didn't work out for him in my head. Plus, sorry to Corey for the crappy relationship...I promise it gets better


	3. Man Crush...or Whatevr you Want to Call it

Okay, Johnny could say with absolute certainty that he had no intention to wake up like he did. He drowsily came to consciousness only comprehending that his arms were around somebody, he assumed that somebody was Patrick. He had forgotten about their latest antics, so he leaned down and pressed a kiss on that somebody's cheek. Then as he burrowed into their neck, he noticed a few thing that weren't quite right. One, whoever he was holding had a lot more stubble than Patrick could ever manage. Two, this person was bigger, taller, had wider shoulders. Three, this person was a hell of a lot warmer and more comfortable to be next to, they were like a human heater. But still, no matter how comfortable they were, they weren't his boyfriend...or ex...or whatever, the point was that he wasn't supposed to be doing this.

Johnny cracked his eyes open, slowly focusing in on the tan neck, dark hair, and broad shoulders he was facing. Oh shit...that's right...he slept over at Corey's... He carefully backed away and unwrapped his arms from the protective grip he had on the goalie's hips. And according to himself, it wasn't a protective grip, just simply concerned, he was just worried about the goalie. Just worried... 

He quietly slipped out of the room, still trying to shake the morning drowsiness, and making sure the goalie stayed asleep. He really looked like he needed it... Johnny sighed as he grabbed his overnight bag, wandering to find a bathroom. When he did find one, he plopped the bag down, feeling entirely too relaxed, he felt like that was the first time he'd comfortably slept in forever. Why he felt this way, he wanted to say it was the bed or the fact that he was so damn tired. He mumbled to himself in and English-French mix as he put on some new clothes and freshened up, taking advantage of Corey's roomy shower for a bit. He exited with the bathroom just as his stomach began to growl.

He threw his bag onto the sofa as he made his to the kitchen only to stop in front of the microwave. He didn't know where anything was here...and the one who did was asleep...  
"Fuck," he swore a little louder than he intended, only to be met by a voice across the room.  
"A little early in the morning to be swearing at inanimate objects, eh captain?" Came Corey's raspy morning voice (which sounded awesome by the way...).  
"Funny thing for you to say since the first impression I ever got of you was just like that. I scored a goal at you and you swore at the puck, in French," Johnny joked back.  
"To be completely fair, I didn't know you would understand me, nobody had really noticed before," Corey followed, yawning quietly as he waddled into the kitchen, opening some cabinets to grab cooking implements.   
"Oh I understood you, and believe me, that puck did not deserve those kinds of words, Johnny chuckled, sliding into a chair at the kitchen table.  
"Those words weren't exactly aimed at the puck," Corey mumbled with a low chuckle as he heard Johnny's jaw drop.   
"You don't say those kinds of things to a person! Especially to a member of your own team,"Johnny preached with a mock offended tone. "Your captain too, of all people!"  
"Well captain," He started putting an annoying amount of emphasis on the word. "Maybe you just need to stop eavesdropping into other peoples conversations."  
"You were having a conversation with the puck?" Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"I don't know!" Corey said, throwing open the fridge to grab ingredients. "I'm a goalie, I'm supposed to do weird things like that," he joked as he kicked the fridge closed.   
"Not that weird... I'm pretty sure Fleury doesn't talk to his goalie stick...  
"Hey, you never know," Crow finished as he shrugged and threw a pan on the stove.  
"Are eggs okay, cause if not, you have a frozen pizza and probably a tub of ice cream..."  
"Yeah eggs are fine, though that probable ice cream does sound like a healthy start to the day," the captain teased.  
"Shut up," he replied with a sneer. And then it was quiet for a while. Corey shuffled around the kitchen, making some scrambled eggs with peppers and shit. He pulled some bacon out of somewhere, which Johnny knew he would regret later but cherished as the smell filled the house.  
Johnny kept following Corey across the kitchen, noticing how he kept stretching like he couldn't quite get it right. Each time he did so his shirt lifted up, and with the help of his low hanging sweatpants, he could catch a few glimpses of his toned abdomen and soft looking skin. Every time he did so though, he quickly averted his eyes, realizing it was stupidly wrong. The problem was, he didn't feel guilty, it's not like he was cheating on a boyfriend, or looking at somebody's girlfriend. He was just enjoying the view... The view of there stupidly cute and attractive goalie...who was awesome...and made Johnnys heart race. The goalie who was comfortable to sleep next to, helped Johnny in a self induced relationship problem, and was just plain perfect. So yeah, at that moment, Johnny realized. He had a thing for Corey, some kind of childish crush that has a bit more feeling because he sees the guy almost every damn day.  
He zoned out even farther, thinking about the night at that Vancouver, the burning feeling in his stomach as Crow walked out of the bar, finally labeling it jealousy. Now if he could have just figured out his stupid little crush then...  
"Hello?" A worried voice asked, breaking his sudden epiphany. "Hey, earth to Johnny? Captain? Tazer? Fuckface? Anything?" Corey's voice called as he came back into reality, realizing a plate of breakfast had been placed in front of him. He slowly looked up and at Corey, whose dark eyes looked at him quizzically.   
"Um...yeah?" Johnny finally answered.  
"You okay there?"  
"Yeah, just deep in thought.."  
"Care to share what about?" Corey said hopefully as he grabbed a fork, taking a bite of some eggs.  
"Um...not really" he replied, picking at his eggs as some heat rose across his face. Corey just raised an eyebrow and sort of gave him a look that could have been considered a pout if you looked close enough.   
They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, Corey basically shoveling down his food and Johnny trying to take his sweet time. Corey took his plate to the sink, cleaning it off in record time.  
"Dude, I know hockey players eat a lot and all, but when's the last time you ate?" Johnny joked, trying to keep everything light after his realization.   
"I forgot to eat dinner yesterday," Corey said with a nonchalant shrug.  
"Just forgot?" Johnny chuckled with a raised eyebrow.  
"Yeah,don't you ever do that? I was just chilling on my couch watching tv all night and then you showed up and well you know what happened then. So when it woke up this morning, I was like starving," Corey ranted while he grabbed an energy bar of some sort, eating it pretty quickly after.  
"No, I don't ever do that," Johnny answered with a chuckle, just shaking his head as he finished his breakfast. Corey just rolled his eyes, leaning up against the countertop.   
"My stomach speaks to me when I'm hungry, and I fucking listen," he continued, and Corey just sneered at him playfully, making a faint blush rise to his face.  
"We'll mine does too," Corey continued with his mouth sort of full. "You're just a lot louder than it, so I can't hear." Johnny immediately narrowed his eyes in a joking sort of way. He flipped Corey off quickly, and a few chirps flew around here and there. 

From there on the morning was pretty easy and laid back. They cleaned up breakfast, went to go watch whatever TV show was on, decided against that considering Oprah was somehow the best option, and found some video games. At some point they were playing madden and Corey had beat him at least three times in a row, it might have been more, he would never say. They laughed and Johnny actually felt the best he had in ages. They laughed and teased each other endlessly. They talked about the upcoming season and how great it was going to be if it ever started. It didn't feel pressured or anything, it was...nice. And then the phone rang...   
"Johnny, phone," Corey mumbled as he tossed a perfect pass before bringing up the pause screen. Johnny dropped his controller with a few grumbles and a "yeah,yeah". He grabbed his phone quickly, taking a glance at who was calling, and immediately his heart dropped....Patrick.

He stared at the screen for entirely too long before making the dumbass decision to answer. He could feel the goalies curious eyes on him. He put the cold phone to his ear and immediately said.  
"Whatever it is you want or think you can fix, no."  
"Johnny, please...," an absolutely wrecked voice said.  
"No," he said again firmly. At this point Corey sat up from whatever bored position he was in thing to look over with confused eyes.  
"Please....I'm sorry...you have to understand, Johnny."  
"No Patrick! Not this time!" Johnny snapped, gaining Corey's full attention as an invisible tension started to build.  
"What I said was stupid, I was an asshole.."Kaner mumbled.  
"Yeah, we'll I said some pretty shitty stuff too, so we are even." The captain was doing his best to keep his voice even.  
"So...?"  
"So nothing Patrick," he bit out.  
"Johnny...can we just talk...it doesn't even have to be in person..."  
"Sure, right no, over the phone," was all he replied. Corey looked at him and mouthed a "do you need me to leave?". Johnny just shook his head, he was not going to kick him out of his own house. Instead he voted to walk over to the farthest room from where Corey was, trying to give both of them some privacy.

He doesn't remember the rest of the conversation clearly, it was angry and emotional and Kaner was so hopeful, but Johnny Said no. He said no to all of it. Attempt after attempt, and it tore him to pieces everytime he did. The problem was, he did care for Patrick, but in more of a captain, brother sort of thing. That was never going to go away, but they couldn't keep this up. It had been one of the longest talks Johnny had ever had. He paced as he was talking observing the room he was in. It was the same bedroom he had been in last night, but it seemed different now. He saw a few pictures of Corey and his family and other friends (he recognized Sylvie, he always talked about her, and how it never would have worked out). He sat in the bed, listening to Patrick drone on forever, and just when he thought it was never going to end, Patrick just sighed.   
"Johnny, I can see where this is going, just promise me that at some point we can be friends again...that's all I really want."  
And that was one of the only things he gave a whole hearted yes to. And then there was a sigh of relief just before the line went silent. Johnny brought the phone away from his cheek, where it had essentially been glued, seeing that Patrick had hung up, and that it was probably time for him to leave and pick up his normal duties as a human being. He walked out of the room, yelling a few things for Corey like "Thanks for having me" and "For listening" and some lame excuse like "I've got a lunch date." He went to the bathroom and packed up his bag, walking to the door and setting it down. "Corey," he finally said, turning around, expecting to see the goalies childish face glued to the tv, "thanks". He then saw the goalie was sleeping, again... His frame was awkwardly sprawled across the couch, feet just hanging off the edge.   
The captain walked over, sitting on the floor in front of the goalie. He looked so peaceful and well, almost adorable (maybe that wasn't the right word). Suddenly, without any thought, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Corey's warm forehead. He slowly moved back, his lips tingling a little as his eyes widened.   
"Shit," he whispered as he quickly stood up, almost falling down. He grabbed his bag and rushed out, closing the door quietly as he shook his head to get rid of the jumbled thoughts.

 

 

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A/n: Okay so, last chapter it was not my intention to make Corey seem like some sort of emotional teenage girl over the whole breakup thing. I wrote it completely wrong and I apologize. Also, if there are errors in here, I'm sorry, I'm horrible with that. And, I hope you like it, it will get better I swear!


	4. What Did I Do Now?

Finally the season started, a distraction was finally brought up. It was short sure, but long enough for him to "patch" things up with Patrick (and try not to let his feelings for the goalie grow). It took a while, but he did it, they were somehow still best friends (Him and Pat of course). The season was a whirlwind. The streak gave him a new confidence in his team he had never had before. He hated Emery for doing so good sometimes though, acting like he was equal to Corey.... He wasn't....he was good, but he would never be, well, Corey. And he was an asshole. And he should have said this if he hadn’t known about him and Corey, that’s just the way he was. A douche. They split the season pretty equally, and Johnny could tell how much that bothered the younger goalie. After one particularly amazing game by Emery, Johnny finally decided to talk to him about it.  
"Hey Crow," he called, even though they were like the only two left in the locker room, packing up to go home. He hummed a bit, sort of looking over at Johnny, but not really.   
"He can't replace you," was all Johnny said, and it was heartfelt, maybe a little too much so. Corey just sighed and nodded his head, he still didn't look over. Johnny walked over to him and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt the goalie freeze underneath him, and slowly turn around, making sure not to dislodge the hand.  
"Hey, I mean it." Corey just gave a shy smile and nodded.   
"I'll try to keep that in mind," he said.   
"Hey, you'll kick ass in the playoffs, so don't worry about it." They both chuckled at this, the captain still embracing him slightly.  
There was a moment there, and Johnny knew it, but it was totally ruined as Sharpy walked in and let out a giant laugh.   
"Ha! Gaaay!" He joked in a mocking tone, not really realizing about the whole sexuality situation of Johnny's here... Corey turned beat red and Tazer just turned around to chase him, like a normal captain would have.   
"You son of a bitch get back here!"

 

And then the playoffs started, and there was a game on May 23rd against the Red Wings. they were shutout 2-0, and Corey blamed himself for the entire series so far.   
"Dude you were third star!" Keith told him in the locker room. "You did fine, we didn't produce..."  
"I could have been first star... Or at least won us the game..." The goalie mumbled. Razor ruffled his hair worriedly, getting the captain a little angry, because, since when did he care? And he also noticed the slight tense in the goalie's muscles after that.  
"Man...we can't lose to Detroit," Seabrook growled, and they all just nodded their heads solemnly. Corey just bit his lip and nodded along.   
On the plane ride back to Chicago, Johnny made sure he sat next to the goalie, effectively kicking Razor out of his seat, but whatever.  
"Corey, you're doing fine," he said, nudging his shoulder. Corey pretended to be asleep, and normally it would have been convincing, but Johnny noticed the frown that formed as he said those words.   
"Even if you won't listen, we all believe in you, we will pull out of this, we've got a cup to win." Corey just let out a huff of air, and at this, Johnny decided he was going to sleep too. He leaned back in his seat, slowly drifting off, quietly saying and "I believe in you too," and this he felt Corey react a little, like he just melted.   
When they landed back in Chicago, he awoke to Crow leaning on his shoulder, asleep. He turned to see Sharpy looking and chuckling at him. Johnny's eyes just flared open and he mouthed a giant "We are NOT together". Sharpy just shrugged, grabbing his bag, "accidentally" hitting his captain with it on the way out. “I never said anything about that,” he yelled casually as he got off the plane.

He gently ruffled Corey's hair, slowly bringing him out of sleep. He slowly looked up, them immediately widened his eyes and sat up, getting off of Johnny.   
"Sorry!" He apologized in a super groggy voice.   
"Don't worry about it," he said, getting up and exiting the plane as they normally would, though it wasn't normal. He wanted that again, that touch, that melting feeling...

Then They did it, the won the series. 4-1 at home, 4-3 in Detroit and and OT 2-1 win, with another third star for Corey, but this one felt better. "I told you so," Johnny snuck in between all the noise and the madness of that night.

Then it was June 24th, they were under the TD Garden lights, and the score was 2-1. The entire team was ready for a game seven, then it was one goal, and then they were ready for overtime. And then there was 17 seconds, 17 seconds, and it was their lead. All they had to do was to keep it away from the net. They were all in the zone at that moment, until that buzzer rang, and then it was all a blur. 3-2 the scoreboard read. The gloves dropped. The sticks fell. There were huffs and celebrations through the night. Then they lifted the cup, Johnny felt dazed, on and off the ice, then the locker room, then they ended up in some Boston bar. 

He had already had a drink or two, hardly balancing on the bar stool he was perched upon. There was happy sounds floating through the entire bar, laughing, horrible renditions of Chelsea Dagger, whatever else the team was doing. Johnny just shook his head and looked down at the bar and the drink in his hands. He took a deep breath and knocked it back, the burn died quickly, and he stood up. Immediately sitting back down as the drunken haze started to take over.  
"Careful there captain," a voice that sounded most like Sharpy's joked. Johnny just sighed and nodded.   
“You wouldn’t want to be so drunk you couldn’t go save your boyfriend when he gets into some drunken mess.”   
Kaner? he thought. Patrick gets himself into those messes all the time...why is Sharpy so concerned about that all of a sudden? And they don't really look like they are dating anymore...  
“What?” he said in absolute exasperation in his hazy state. He was not about to go think this one out.  
“Our goalie you dumb fuck. The one you stare at and let cuddle up on you and get up all in each others space," His alternate replies in a matter of fact tone.  
"What? I don't...I mean we aren't... I don't let him...we aren't dating!" Johnny sputtered out, widening his eyes in a mix of anger and shock.  
"Sure you aren't," Sharpy replied with a chuckle.   
"We're not, believe me." He said quickly, sighing and looking back down towards the bar. It would be nice to say yes he thought. He just shook his head a sighed, holding his hand up and asking the bartender for a beer. Sharpy just raised an eyebrow at him, in a worried sort of way, like he didn't want him too drunk, but screw that. He just lifted up the Stanley Cup, again, this was his night.   
"Well, on that note, before you get wasted you mind doing me a favor?"  
"What?" He was getting real tired of Patrick's soberness real fast right now. And whatever wisdom he was trying to give...  
"Go save your not boyfriend from our asshat of a back up goalie." And that got his attention. He whipped his head back as the beer bottle was set in front of him, scoping out said asshat.... He looked around once or twice before spotting both of them in a more secluded corner of the bar. Corey just had this look of disgust in his face, and Emery a small smile. He tried to listen in on the conversation, this situation looking very familiar to another bar scene he had once witnessed.   
"What are they...?" He started to ask, turning to Sharpy only to find the stool next to him empty. He just let out an annoyed sigh and turned back to watch the two goalies, slowly standing up and walking himself closer. As he pushed through some drunken teammates and the rest of the regular crowd, the conversation became a little more clear. He picked up dialogue like,  
"You had your chance Razor"  
Several  
"Come on Corey, it'll be just like old times, but happier"'s  
And a lot of   
"Just fuck off"'s  
The second Razor took a step closer to Corey, reaching out to grab his shoulder, Johnny stepped in. He walked right between them, placing his hand on Corey's shoulder, but more in a 'I'm so fucking proud of you because we just won a Stanley Cup' sort of way. He saw Ray's nostrils flare as he backed away. He felt the tiny sigh of relief that Corey gave off.   
"I just wanted to tell you both how proud I am of what you two did this year. You kicked ass in the regular season, Crow, you especially in the playoffs," Johnny then said, trying to pass this off as a totally casual sort of thing.  
"I'd love to buy you guys a round of drinks or something," he then continued.   
"No," Razor then snapped. "We were just leaving, thanks though."  
"You were just leaving," Corey then said with a shit ton of attitude. "I'd love a drink captain." Razor just let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.  
"Whatever, you were always a little piece of shit," he then mumbled, walking away. They both assumed he just left after that. As soon as he was out of sight Corey just turned to Johnny and gave him a quick hug and mumbled a "thank you". Johnny just nodded as they separated, trying not to blush like a fucking girl.  
"Can I still have that drink?" The goalie then asked, tilting his head a little to the side while asking the question. That shouldn't be cute...he's a freaking 28 year old man why is that cute  
"Um...uh, yeah, of course, you did play a great season, wasn't lying about that." Corey just smiled in appreciation.  
"I try," he said, and they both chuckled.

Johnny remembers going to the bar, ordering some drinks. The haze in his mind continued to grow, as did Corey's drunken haze (though his seemed to get stronger faster.) then he doesn't remember exactly how this happened (like how the hell they ended up back at the hotel, they were leaving in a few hours, what the hell?)

They were both on the bed in Corey's room, Johnny on his hands and knees towering over Corey who had a strong grip on Johnny's biceps. They were lazily making out, Johnny biting at Corey's lip constantly because hey, he's got a lot of those. Every so often there were would be a pleasured sigh or tiny moan, but no clothes were taken off, and it never went any further. Both of them were just happy with this, and they went on with it for who knows how long in this drunken haze, until they both started to get tired. Johnny broke the kiss, laying his forehead on top of Corey's, making the older man chuckle. Johnny chuckled alongside him, slowly toppling over to fall to Corey's right side. Corey immediately bunched up next to him, getting the theme of sleeping somehow. And sleep they did...

Johnny woke up the next morning with the definite headache of a hangover. And they he felt warmth, he slowly opened his eyes, the light making his head pound. He opened his eyes to a sleeping face. His legs were intertwined with somebody else's, his arm draped over the, as well. His eyes came into focus and he could quickly identify the face of the man he was sleeping with, Corey.  
"Oh god..." He whispered in absolute horror. He quickly regained the memories of last night, blushing as they resurfaced. He was so glad it didn't go farther... But how could he explain this. Suddenly he was filled with terror, what the hell was he going to do. 

He quickly but carefully untangled himself from Corey, for the second time in a year-span, making sure he didn't wake up. He shuffled out of the room, his breath heavily increasing as he mapped out possible scenarios in his head.

Oh god what have I done? I hope he doesn't remember, he can't, he just can't. I can't deal with the whole "dating a teammate" thing again... I can't hurt him...he can't fucking have feeling for me too...what if he feels like I took advantage...what the hell have I done? Holy shit...

As all the what ifs came to his mind, he couldn't help thinking just one good thing, it just felt so right...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, How is it? And that picture of Corey and Bollig by the way has caused my death...I JUST CAN'T! Probably some Grammar errors, sorry about that, but I promise it'll get goo soon! Thanks!


	5. Something to Become

"David! For the last time! I am completely capable of getting somebody to date me! Shit! I could go out tonight and come home with a boyfriend tomorrow if I wanted!"

"Sure you could, bro..." 

"I so could!" He yelled after hearing his brother’s laughter. 

"Maybe, but I'm 85% sure you'd show up with one of your teammates," David said jokingly, well he thought it was jokingly

"Oh ha ha, very funny, who the hell would I even show up with?" 

"Sharpy said you've got your eye on the goalie," his brother then said, keeping his voice low since they were on the phone. He assumed he was at home or in some public place.

"When the hell did you start talking to Sharpy?" he asked as a diversion.

"A while back," came the reply. He sounded like he was chewing on something...little fucker, can't stop eating even when he's on the phone. "But seriously, have you talked to him this summer?"

"Who? Sharpy? Yeah, he won't shut up about the same thing you are," he complains, because his phone bill took a drastic leap every time he talked to that man.

"No, Corey you dumbass." Oh...

"Um, no," was the simple reply. I mean why the hell would he? It's not like they got drunk out and made out or anything...

"You really have no idea how to get a date. Or create any sort of love life at all, do you?"

"Hey!" Now Johnny was getting flustered...

"Just saying, if you’re trying to get with someone, cutting off connection with them is not your best choice. I'm actually pretty sure it ranks in the bottom five."

Okay, so maybe just cutting off contact with Corey was the best idea. He just didn't know how to deal with it. Corey never said anything about the whole making out thing, maybe he didn't remember? He must have seen how swollen his lips were the next morning, and the fact that he must have had a wicked hangover should have proven something was up... maybe he was just sparing Johnny's feelings? Either way, he didn't know, he tried not to think about it. About how he enjoyed it. About how Corey would have said something if he was interested, how he might have just lost one of his greatest friends, and a captain and a goalie without a connection is not good. Whatever, he was just trying to enjoy his summer...

And he did, he really did, his cup day was exhilarating. They all got to go to the White House, repeat, the White House. He went to parties, he hung with his family, he did shit normal people that weren't hockey stars did. It was all going great, until his little brother came crashing in.

"You know what, David? It's complicated. You can't just start going out with a dude when you are the captain of a Stanley Cup winning team. People just don't take to things like that well," he finally said. 

"Woah, getting deep over there bro..." David said, and then Johnny's phone buzzed against his ear, indicating a text or a call. 

"Hey, I'm getting another call, I'll talk to you later?"

"Maybe it's Corey. He's probably got the balls to ask you out before you even start talking to him again," he chirped.

"Goodbye, David" were the final words he said as hung up the phone. Well, he lied a little, it was a text, but close enough. He unlocked his phone, wondering who the hell was texting him. If it was Sharpy again he swore to god...   
From: Corey (11:14 AM)  
Hey Jon, I understand if you say no, but can I stay with you for like a week. My apartment is, well... not available, and I need a place to stay. I’ll ask somebody else if it’s a problem, don’t worry! Thanks!

Oh god... He can't say no, can he? Maybe he should just call and talk it through...a week wouldn't be that bad. He should just text back...

Me (11:20 AM)  
Yeah sure, Crow. I don't promise the best food selection, but it would be no problem. Plus, sleeping over at Seab’s place is a nightmare, so I'll save you from that. When are you going to be over?

Sounds nonchalant and captain-like, right? Now he has to wait for a response and hopes he has enough time to figure out how to make the bed in the guest room... Does he even have sheets for that?

Corey (11:22 AM)  
Is like in an hour okay? 

Well it's time to speed shop for actual food that you can serve to a teammate...

Me (11:23 AM)   
Yeah sure, see you soon!

Corey (11:23 AM)  
Thanks! See you! :)

Well shit... Double over time mother fucking shit...   
"What the hell was that!?" He growled at himself. You can't just invite over the the man you have a crush on and accidentally made out with! Johnny was beyond frustrated at this point. What the hell was he thinking? 

He was just going to have to play it cool... it was just one week.... and Corey obviously didn't remember about the whole thing. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked to stay, right? Hell, he knew this was a mess. Quickly to distract himself, he made up the guest bedroom, finding some white sheets that felt softer than his to cover the guest bed. He also made a quick run to the local supermarket was down the street, picking up basic food items that were acceptable to feed somebody you actually cared about. After that he quickly returned home, putting all the crap he just bought away.

He sort of zoned out, the familiarity of putting away groceries into his house was almost claiming. He was so into it he almost missed the knock at his door, almost. He shot his eyes up to the clock reading 12:30 PM... Corey.

"It's open!" He shouted, stuffing the last box of cereal into the cabinet. 

"No, it's not!" A voice shouted back, sounding quite annoyed.

"Oh..." Johnny muttered to himself, trudging to the door, purposely taking longer than he normally would, because Corey and his sass could wait. He started to unlock the door, but then smiled to himself, because this could be a great opportunity. He locked the door again.

"What's that password?" He asked.

"What...? Johnny oh my god we are not fucking four years old, what the hell..." Corey groaned.

"You look like you're four, so I mean it works out," Johnny then chirped.

"At least I can grow a beard."

"That's still not the password," the captain replied.

"Just let me in will you?" Corey whined.

"Not with that attitude!"

"Johnny," he whined again, and Johnny could just see the pout forming on the goalies face.

"Password?"

"Captain Serious?" he guessed, Johnny assumed that was to annoy him.

"No you little shit..." 

"Please?!" Corey quietly shouted, sounding a little desperate.

"Fine, fine," Johnny said as he finally unlocked the door, swinging it open with a full blown grin on his face. Corey looked annoyed and just a little flustered as he walked in yet he still managed a small "Merci" as he walked in. 

Oh shit, that's right, he speaks French... well, no muttering in French it is...

"Hey Johnny, am I sleeping on the couch or...?" Corey suddenly asked as he waddled inside. He looked over at Johnny with this sort of hopeful look, or whatever, it was just cute, and shit, was Johnny blushing?

"Uh, uh, no dude...there's a guest bedroom down the hall," Johnny said, waving for Corey to follow him, making sure his face was turned away. God, if this was how this started, he was truly screwed for the rest of the week.

They walked to the bedroom and he led Corey inside. The goalie immediately threw his bag in the corner and jumped onto the bed, scrunching up some sheets in his arm and burying his face into them. He breathed in deeply and just smiled.

"Do you know how good washed sheets smell?" He hummed out, burying his face even deeper. Well if that wasn't adorable, Johnny didn't know what was...

"Do you not know how to do your own laundry or something?" Johnny asked.

"Too lazy," he answered then shrugged.

"Well don't think I'm going to start doing it or anything," Johnny joked, actually grabbing Corey's haphazardly thrown bag and tossing it on the bed. Corey slowly sat up, still stretching his legs out on the bed that could not have been comfortable unless of course, you were a goalie. Corey reached over for his bag, which seemed a little light for a one week stay, but whatever. And unzipped it, just staring at the clothes inside, looking for something. 

"Corey, what the hell are you looking for?" Johnny asked as Corey stared at the bag in silence. He then leaned up against the wall, looking at him expectantly. 

"T-shirt...I'm hot..." Corey mumbled, reaching his hand in the bag and moving things around, pulling out what seemed to be some sort of dark grey v neck. Johnny just shook his head and sighed. 

"You wore a long sleeved shirt in summer because?" He asked rhetorically. 

"Because whoever runs the air conditioning in airplanes is in an alliance with fucking Jack Frost," the goalie snapped back, as he stripped himself of said shirt. First off, Johnny should not have been looking at him as he did that. Sure, he had seen him shirtless before, but it had the same effect everytime, and if he didn't avert his eyes, a cold shower would be needed.

Second, the fact that Corey just tossed his shirt on the floor instead of doing something else was going to be a problem. Johnny didn't like stuff all over. He wasn't OCD, it was just something that bothered him. He snapped out of his little staring trance and cleared his throat obnoxiously as Corey was slipping on his shirt. There was no answer.

"Dude, no," was all he said. Corey just looked at him, confused. Johnny motioned to the shirt on the floor and Corey's jaw just dropped to the floor.

"You aren't that kind of roommate, are you?" He asked in utter disbelief.

"First off, we aren't roommates, my house my rules, mister," he snapped, feeling like his normal captain self. "And no, it's just random shit all over the floor that pisses me off, so pick it up."

"Come on, Johnny," Corey laughed out.

"Pick it up!" Johnny challenged jokingly, but slightly serious.

"Make me," Corey bit back. And somehow Johnny took that as a challenge and in a record five seconds both of them were wrestling on the floor like a bunch of kids again. At some point they both kinda rolled off the bed, landing on top of the shirt that caused the commotion.

It was fast and childish, Corey giggling through the whole thing. They were both the same size, so Johnny was having a little more trouble pinning him down than he would with most, especially with Patrick. Eventually, he was able to do so. Both of the goalie’s wrists were pinned above his head as Johnny sat on his hips. Corey laughed and just shook his head with that stupid grin on his face.

"Alright, alright, I'll hang up my clothes," Corey huffed out, but that's not what Johnny was focused on. His eyes were transfixed on the goalie’s heavy breathing, his lips parted to gasp in some extra air. It reminded him of when he and Patrick used to do this, but usually that ended in sex. Oh god, he would love that now. His mind played through a few scenarios and all of a sudden he felt blood rush to his cheeks. Shit...

Corey squirmed under him, trying to break him out of the quick trance. Johnny just gasped and quickly got off the goalie who slowly sat up looking up at Johnny with eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Everything alright?" He asked hesitantly. Johnny just nodded.

"Uh...yeah...what do you want for dinner?" He asked. This was going to be a long week...

As the weeks dragged on awkwardly, Johnny was facing the task of resisting the urge of tackling the goalie down on the bed and kissing him furiously. Obviously, said goalie didn't remember anything about the whole making out in Boston situation, otherwise that awkward conversation would have just been another great addition to this week. Awkward moments such as but not limited to:

"Hey Corey, can I grab my towel..." He started to say as he entered the bathroom. And there the goalie was, wrapped in a towel from the waist down. He had water dripping down his abs and his arms. Johnny nearly squaked as the air left his lungs. You were just supposed to be brushing your teeth...oh God Corey why?

"Huh?" The goalie asked, as if he was completely fine with this casually mostly naked thing not in the locker room. Johnny just pointed to whatever towel looked like it was his, his brain was mush. Corey handed it over and Johnny gave a crooked smile, closing the bathroom door and escaping to think of something else...

Not forgetting...

They were up almost all night playing NHL 13. They went from Corey complaining about how goalies should be on the cover almost every year to agreeing on the fact that there was no way Shea Weber could actually do what Johnny was making him do on the screen. 

They finally started wind down as Johnny was unable to get one fucking goal past Fleury who was currently being played by another French Canadian. 

"Fine! I give up! Penguins win!" Johnny shouted with clear frustration in his voice. Corey just laughed and shouted in victory.

"Told you I was good at this," he boasted.

"At what? Playing goalie? I'd hope so..." Johnny teased. 

"I'm great, and the cup ring on your finger proves it," Corey said as he leaned over on Johnny's shoulder. He shrugged it off as a friendly sort of thing, but the little shit head actually fell asleep on his damn shoulder. He looked so damn peaceful as he slept that it aggravated Johnny. Watching your goalie sleep was not supposed to be on his to do list...

And last but not least....

"But Johnny, we fucking need some," Corey whined cutely while pointing to, of all things, a pack of Kraft Mac and cheese. 

"No! That’s beyond unhealthy!" Johnny snapped in his captain voice.

"But captain!" Corey whined, and Johnny shivered. He wanted to tell about how no grown man should be able to sound the young and somehow also arouse him because apparently he has some weird kink about being captain.

"F-fine," he stuttered out, aggressively grabbing the blue box and tossing it in the cart. Corey celebrated his minor victory that night with four bowls of that shit.

\--

Two days before Corey was supposed to leave, the pair had just eaten lunch and Corey was being a lazy ass sitting over on the couch, doing nothing. 

"You're supposed to be stretching," Johnny yelled from the kitchen.

"Supposed to being the key phrase there," Corey yelled back.

"Corey!" He snapped, a quick growl escaping him. All he heard was a heavy, childish sigh, then a few mumbled words.

"Fine..." Corey groaned as he slipped off the couch. Well, he more flopped, because he was acting like a child who was told to clean their room.

"It's your fault for being a goalie," Johnny said as he washed the last fork and put it back in the drawer, giving it a hip check to close it.

"Well, seeming as I suck at all other aspects, I really only had one...option," said goalie mumbled, his words becoming unclear as he concentrated on his routine.

"You couldn't suck that bad," he replied, making his way over to the living area to go pester Corey some more. Spoiler alert: Bad Idea.

"You'd be surprised," he huffed out as Johnny walked into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks. Okay now sure, Corey wasn't the most flexible goalie in the NHL, they all knew that. He wasn't like Quick who was in the splits 85% of the time, but he could still do thing that made other guys cringe from just looking, or arouse them. One of which Johnny was currently feeling, and he would have preferred to cringe at this point.

"Uhhhh..." He mumbled with his jaw hanging and he was pretty sure he would have drooled if he didn't have any common sense. Corey was in some stretch where he was supposed to do some form of split in the air by trying to drop his legs to either side, but honestly, Johnny didn't know. Nor did he care. He was reaching the line of "fuck this, you're hot, I can request a trade later, and fuck you too." I mean Corey already enjoyed kissing once when he was drunk, sober him had a chance of liking it too.

"Enjoying the show?" Corey teased as he looked up at the ceiling. Slowly he pushed his legs down more, not realizing what the hell this was doing to Johnny. It was just part of a routine...

"Jon...?" He asked half heartedly, as he leaned his head back to look. They made quick eye contact, and Johnny's eyes just widened as he closed his mouth and started to turn pale. "I wasn't staring at you" he was about to say, followed up by, "just continue." Then he would make a swift exit to the bathroom for a shower and bang his head against the wall trying to get that picture out of his mind, but he was interrupted. 

"God dammit, Johnny," Corey growled as he rolled over and sat up with an annoyed look in his eyes. "I was waiting for you to make a move, because obviously, you're as infatuated with me as I am with you, but you are too damn slow. Staring and nothing else, that's frustrating'" Corey said, and Johnny's brain kind of just shut down. Wait what...?

"I was kind of just hoping you'd take charge like you did in Boston...then again we were drunk," Corey rambled on, a blush crawling to his cheeks. And then his eyes widened and a look of horror spread across his face.

"Unless of course I misread all that..." He then said, licking his lips out of nervousness. Well, that's it, Johnny is done. Calculations are complete. He's going to take this as an invitation, and this better end up good, otherwise he was going to shoot a hell of a lot harder at Corey this season. 

"No," was all Johnny said. A vague and hopefully self explanatory answer. Johnny willed his legs to walk over to Corey, reaching the coach and still towering over the goalie who was sitting on the floor.

He kneeled down slowly to look Corey in the eyes, and just smiled lightly back. The goalie had his back against the couch and his legs were curled in towards his chest. Johnny went to his knees and knelt down, tapping one of Corey's legs to try to get him to let him slip in. Corey got the idea and opened his legs a reasonable distance as Johnny scooted in , kneeling inches in front of the goalies hips. 

"Are you sure?" He asked, or at least, that what he thought he said. He guessed it was clear enough because Corey nodded vigorously before Johnny reached forward and cupped a cheek and kissed him on the lips. This kiss was oddly soft for how urgent Johnny was suddenly feeling, but it felt good. Corey had insanely soft lips, but who would really be surprised by that.

Slowly they worked into a rhythm, lips moving pretty easily against each other until Johnny felt a sudden urge flow through him, and he started to bite at Corey's lip. The goalie took the clue, and quickly there was tongue and it went from sweet to sloppy in no time. They shifted positions, breaking the kiss to crawl up onto the couch, Corey on the bottom, Johnny still towering over him. There was a sense of satisfaction in this as they continued on. It was like in Boston, but this time he could enjoy everything.

Corey started to make little noises of satisfactions Johnny sat on his hip and circled lightly. He felt them both getting hard, and would match the swivel of his hips with the swipes of his tongue. 

All of a sudden Johnny felt the hand that was secured on his arm loosen and make its way up to his back, moving down slowly and sending shivers through his body. His arms trembled a little as the other hand made its way back, playing with the hem of his t shirt. 

"Oh mon Dieu," he whispered, all of a sudden not being able to find the words in English. Corey just chuckled and smirked, which was a weird look for him, but a hot one. Corey pulled his shirt off with one swift motion, discarding it who knows where, but hey, who cared? The sudden cold shocked his body, and he shivered again, but the feeling was quickly replaced by the feeling of warm hand landing in between his shoulders, by his neck. 

He growled quietly into Corey's mouth, taking one of his hand to curl into his black hair, he tugged lightly to break the kiss again. For a bit, Corey just looked at him with those dark eyes that had taken on a new level. His lips were red and swollen and Johnny did that and he bucked his hips lightly from the arousel and then Corey fucking moaned. And Johnny lost it.

He almost ripped Corey's shirt off and managed to get bit of their sweatpants down to their knees. Corey kicked his off then loosely wrapped his legs around Johnny waist. They both took the next minutes just to look and ravage with their eyes. Then Johnny dove in, biting at the base of Corey's neck, earning him small whimpers from the man underneath him. He slowly slid down, kissing and biting a trail down Corey's chest. He felt each muscle writhe in pleasure underneath him. He placed his hands firmly on Corey's hips as he reached his abdomen, pulling back and breathing heavily on the sweat sheeted skin. Corey just looked down at him in desperation. 

"Dammit, Corey!" Johnny growled as he closed his eyes and counted to ten. "It's been way too long since I've had sex for you to look at me like that!" 

"Then hurry the fuck up!" Corey half growled, half whined. It was a half assed attempt to try to make him sound less desperate, it didn't work. Johnny chuckled breathlessly and moved his hand from Corey's hips to his already displaced boxers. He slid them off hastily, Corey giving him a his as the cool air hit his dick. Johnny just chuckled and lowered himself down on the couch and setting himself up to face Corey's dick. Corey just looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Wait, are you...?" He started to ask but was cut off by his own shockingly loud moan as Johnny took him in his mouth. His head snapped back and hit the headrest with force that couldn't have been comfortable. He's done this a few times before, mostly with Patrick, but it's been a while. He remembers to hollow out his cheeks as he moves up and down slowly. Corey's hands gripped into the couch, threatening to tear a hole. 

Johnny flicks his tongue around the base and has Corey spilling swears in both their native languages. He chuckles, making Corey writhe in pleasure even more. He loves watching the way the goalie moves with every move he makes. He must have been staring pretty hard because Corey looked down at him and then he whined. 

"Johnny, gonna..." Was all he said before he pulled of Corey's duck with a pop. He spat his in his hand a little as he reached one for Corey's cock and one for his. He jerked them off in rythm, in hard strokes. Corey came first, yelling something intelligible in French and something that resembled the captains name. He watched his face as he came, how it twisted in pure pleasure, and that what brought him the the edge. 

He groaned loudly as he came, all of it landing on Corey's stomach. He milked himself through the orgasm and then collapsed forward, effectively crushing Corey, but he didn't care. He felt the sticky mess between them as he started to regain a clear mind. They were both breathing heavily, chests rising and falling in sync. Corey closed his his eyes and just shook his head laughing.

"Oh god," he finally said breathlessly.

"What?" Johnny asked back.

"We are such a mess," he said, laughing lightly the whole way through. Johnny just nodded his head and laughed along. Oh they were going to be something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Seasonelements for betaing and helping me with revamping this story! It'll be so much better now (hence the new title). Thank you all for reading and hope you stick around!


	6. Starting Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of posting! School has been a lot, but I promise to get more out faster! Thanks!

Johnny tapped on the door lightly, subconsciously hoping that he wouldn't be noticed.

"Come in Jon," the voice on the other side answered lightly. Johnny made his way in, just as he had planned, sitting himself down in a chair he had felt so comfortable in before.  
"Is everything okay," Coach Q asked, sounding genuinely concerned.   
"Y-yeah," Johnny stuttered out, "I just wanted to tell you something, I wanted you to hear it from me."   
Quenneville sat up, hearing the nervousness in Jonathan's voice, staring at him intently.  
"Yes?" He asked.  
"I'm, well Corey, I mean," he started to spill out, then stopped. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, then continued. "I'm gay, but I haven't come out to the team yet. I'm telling you first. Corey and I are together, and I wanted you to know it wouldn't affect our play," he said as calmly as he could. All he heard in response was a dark laugh, and a huff of what sounded like disappointment.   
"I had so much in mind for you Jonathan," Coach Q finally responded.

"Excuse me?" Johnny choked out. Had?

"You can't be captain, not in this state." State? Johnny thought. My sexuality isn't a state. 

"Coach, I think you're overreacting," he started to say, but then the shouting started. Shouts from Coach Q about how he was now unfit, mixed shouts from people he tagged as teammates about how they couldn't believe it, they couldn't accept him, and worst of all, the look Corey gave him as he walked out of the Hawks locker room, all packed up to leave. It was the look of somebody completely broken, complete with a whisper of "I'm sorry..." Johnny didn't want to leave...he couldn't leave Corey in this mess... And then the shouts slowly started to fade out to the sound of a bag zipping.

Johnny slowly came into consciousness, his breathing heavy and uneven as he realized it was all just a dream. He evened out his breathing as he heard quiet swearing as somebody stubbed their toe on a table. He gently smiled.

"Do you have to leave?" Johnny hummed as he woke up to the sound of Corey packing up his things and putting them by the front door. Corey jumped a little but then turned around with a smile.   
"Yeah," he chuckled. "Could you imagine explaining to Seabs or Duncs why I'm still living in your guest bedroom?"  
"No," Johnny said flatly, because honestly he hadn't thought that far. They had just discussed the whole dating thing last night--about how last time it didn't work out for both of them, so they were going to take it slow or whatever. Well, as slow as you could go after you gave your goalie a blowjob.

And he wasn't ready to tell anybody yet, not after that dream. He knew his teammates wouldn't do that, or at least he hoped they wouldn't. He didn't know Q's view on the subject, considering he didn't even know about Corey and Emery. And yes, the team already knew Corey was straight as a circle, but they didn't know that about Johnny, and he couldn't even think about approaching that topic.

"Exactly," Corey pointed out, setting his bag down at the front door and heading to the kitchen. 

"But I am stealing one more meal before I leave." Johnny just chuckled and sat up from his position on the couch. He sat there for a minute, stretching out all the kinks that sleeping on a couch gave him.

"Hey, Crow?" He called, running his fingers through his short hair.   
"Hmm?" Corey replied with his mouth full. When he stood up to face Johnny, he had a frozen waffle in his mouth and two in the toaster. Yet another fucking healthy addition Corey made to Johnny's freezer…  
"How are we going to tell the team?" He asked rather worriedly. He didn't want to, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to hide it either. Maybe he'd let Corey make the decision. "I mean, if we even are..." Corey just groaned at him. He took a bite of the waffle in his mouth and then stuck it on his plate, turning to give Johnny a stern look.  
"Listen, I haven't had breakfast, and it is too early in the morning for this type of high level thinking shit," he rambled, nibbling on his waffle. "Ask me after I've had my breakfast."

"Fine fine," the captain huffed. "But no leaving until we've discussed this!"

"Yes, captain!" Corey shouted back, complete with a mock salute. 

"And I didn't buy you syrup to go with those," Johnny said with a sly smile on his face.  
Corey gasped in a half joking way and half in an actually offended tone.

"Well then..." He murmured. "Do you have honey?"  
"Yeah, why?" Johnny asked back. Corey gave him no answer back. He instead found the honey, drowned all three of his waffles in it, including the frozen one. he had a proud smile on his face as he came to sit on the couch next to Johnny.

"I fixed it, ya asshat," he chirped as he took a bite of his breakfast, a full blown grin on his face. At that, Johnny just lost it and burst out laughing, enjoying the early morning antics.

\-----

"Duncs, Seabs, Shawzie, Leddy, and Boller... I'm not sure about Bicks and Handzus and a few others. We couldn't tell Patrick yet, for sure..." Johnny rambled on. Corey and he were trying to figure out how to tell the team, because the goalie felt they deserved to know. Johnny did too, but not as strongly. He didn't have to tell them last time.

"Okay, so we could tell about half the team, but have to hide it from the other half?" Corey asked in absolute frustration. This was about the third time they had tried to come to a conclusion.

"But first I'd have to actually know, come out, to that half of the team," he replied. He didn't know if some of the others had noticed him and Pat, but he figured not all of them have.

"Or you could just tell them we are dating, that's an effective way to come out of the damn closet," Corey suggested both seriously and sarcastically.

"Corey!" Johnny groaned. This was going nowhere.

"Alright, you know what, how about we just don't tell anybody?" Corey finally sighed out, just shaking his head. Johnny just nodded and looked at him with a sorry smile. He wasn't sure he was ready to tell anybody anything yet.

"But that means we have to hide it too," the goalie continued. "Like we have to actually watch what we are doing..."

"You make it sound like I haven't done this before," he chuckled, remembering him and pay.

"I haven't...ever, and there's a reason for that" Corey mumbled out, and Johnny just reached out across the couch to give him in a hug. Corey shrugged it off and gave a light huff in response.

"It'll be fine, it's just temporary," he assured. Corey just shrugged and huffed a little, frustration creeping into his movements. 

"Yeah," he replied in a monotonous tone. "I have to get going...I've got a meeting with Weeks the new goalie coach later," he stood up, placing a quick kiss on Johnny's lips before heading to the door. He grabbed his bag and just gave a fake smile and a wave goodbye.

Shit...okay maybe they should have worked this out better already....

"I'll call you later," Corey said as he walked out the door, closing it a little violently behind him. Johnny just sat there silently for a minute.

"Well, look at you mister fucking captain...get a new boyfriend and you already manage to piss him off," he said to himself, making sure to keep a mocking tone. It was true he didn't want to tell anybody, but this was not the way he wanted it to go over and now he couldn't even ask anybody for advice because of this.

Couldn't text Sharpy--he'd tease him until the end of time with "I told you so’s”. Plus, he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut if he confided in him.

David... refer to the same reasons as Sharpy, and the two were friends, so hell no.

He couldn't ask any teammate, because then he would pretty much just seem like a hypocrite or something. So he just sat there, rather still, on his couch, mumbling mocking words to himself.

Somehow in that time he had fallen back asleep on his couch, waking up again around three. He wasn't too surprised because he hadn't slept well, because of the nightmare and shit, but whatever... He slowly stood up, hearing his joints pop, immediately regretting sleeping on something that was only meant for sleeping on when you're too drunk to get to your bed. He strode around the living room, trying to regain full feeling in his legs before his phone went off. 

"Aw shit," he groaned out loud, he was still too groggy to deal with the real world. Corey was either going to have thought about it and agreed, or still be pissed as hell. If it was the latter, Johnny was going to flip a table...

He walked stifly over to the counter where he had set his phone and proceeded to pick it up without looking, he knew who it was.

"Hello?" He answered with a scratchy voice, immediately clearing his voice after.  
"You're a dumbass and you are so lucky you have Corey as a boyfriend and not me... not that I would ever try to date you...," the voice rang out on the other end...that wasn’t Corey.  
"Boll--Brandon!? What the fuck?"

"Just saying captain, he's willing not to tell a single soul about you two so he doesn't piss you off," Brandon ranted, and Johnny felt a huge wave do relief run through his veins.

"Wait...how do you?" Johnny started to ask after the initial reaction, but Bollig cut him off.

"You know a guy in Rockford for that amount of time, you get pretty close, that shit sucked. He told me because he knew I wouldn't tell anybody."

"Well, you opened your mouth to me," he snapped back.

"You already know, obviously, and I'm just here to be that whole "break his heart I'll break your neck shit" because somebody has to do it," he then explained, or at least that's what it seemed like.

"Where were you when Emery was around?" Johnny shot. Brandon just huffed on the other end.

"Why do you think I called? I know you're actually a decent human being, but I just wanted to put it out there."

"Thanks Boller...I guess..." Johnny chuckled out. Coming from Brandon, that might count as a compliment.

"But pretend I didn't tell you that whole agreement thing, cause he'd kick my ass," Bollig asked, calming down a bit, but hey, he's an aggressive man.

"He really said that?" He asked for affirmation, because honestly he loved Corey even more right now. But not like love, just love...

"Speaking of that that dick, you know Razor, just don't push him around alright? He'll agree to almost anything...and that's why..." Brandon started to say and then broke off into a chuckle. "Let's just say he made being stuck in Rockford a lot more fun."

"Uh-huh..." Johnny mumbled, he'd have fun asking about this later... He'd never really heard stories like that about Corey before.

"But seriously," Boller continued, suddenly getting serious. "That's why you have to be careful, he's already agreed not to tell the them, minus me of course and..."  
"He's letting you have your way, just don't tell him I called."

"Yeah of course..." But Corey had seemed so angry, like he would never... He was still in a bit of disbelief. He agreed he wouldn't let it all sink in until Corey confirmed to call, not to give himself false hope. Though, Bollig seemed to know most of everything else.

"Good, and hey, I gotta go, just keep this in mind? Thanks," was all he said, and rather quickly, he hung up before Johnny had a chance to say bye, that asshole.

Johnny set down his phone and only had time to turn around before it rang again. This time he checked who it was before he answered, and it actually was Corey this time. He felt a rush of relief as he answered.

As soon as Corey answered with a small "Hi" Johnny let his mouth run loose, completely forgetting his just made promise.

"Thank you so much, you are the best. I swear I'll make it up to you... I really will," he started to rant and then just clamped shut. Oh shit…

"That son of a bitch," was all Corey said, angrily.

"Um, hi?" Johnny offered.

"Well, since you know what was about to go down, you're welcome. And I guess you're allowed to tell one person on the team to, just not fucking Sharpy, because that man..."

"Well, I figured that much out myself, genius," Johnny said sarcastically.

"Well, you can make it up to me after I call back my most trusted advisor...asshole..."

And at that Johnny just chuckled, spending the better part of his afternoon on the phone discussing Sharpy's hair and the inevitable love between goalies and goalposts.

\-------  
It was their home opener, their banner raising, and he honestly couldn’t be more proud. It felt better this time, more substantial. He looked at his team, at every single one of them with the utmost sense of respect and joy and it was just too much. 

As the videos rolled and the flashed, he must have looked at Corey just a little bit more than everybody else. He must of had this look of affection written all over his face, because Duncs tapped him on the leg as they skated into line, gesturing to Corey and then Johnny with his eyebrows raised. 

Johnny just sighed and then nodded with a small smile, because it was Duncan, the worst he could do was tell Seabs. Duncs just looked back at him with a look of surprise, but mostly with a smile; and Johnny took it as a look of acceptance.

“Good,” Duncan said softly before the game started, and it was time to kick some ass.

 

\-------  
“Hey Jon,” Sharpy called across the locker room, and honestly Johnny didn’t want to hear it. His team was sulking around. He just felt defeated. They lost to Tampa Bay, 6-5, in a shootout, and it fucking hurt at the moment. It wasn't a particularly horrifying loss, but they just felt defeated.  
“Tazer!” he then shouted, making his way over.   
“What?” Johnny grumbled, packing his gear up without giving Patrick a glance.  
“We need to talk,” he said flatly, no hint of sarcasm or anything, which was, odd.  
“About?”

“Goalies,” was all he said, and at that point Johnny assumed he knew. So basically, they actually did have to talk.

“Fine, on the plane,” was all he said as he finished packing up his stuff. Patrick nodded curtly, then walked away. Johnny finally stood up, looking around the locker room to access the damage. He saw Duncs and Seabs talking to each other as always, just more solemnly. He saw Corey trying his best to console Nikolai, because goalie guilt and all that shit.

They got through the airport faster than usual, and Johnny took his usual seat after giving a somewhat half hearted speech to the ranks. This time though, Sharpie sat next to him, as expected. 

“So I was right,” was all Patrick said, with no hint of his usual arrogance when he was right.

“Yeah, you were,” Johnny said quietly, not realing how tired he was until he heard his voice.

“Just...just don’t do anything stupid,” Sharp continued, sounding more like a father now than anything else.

“Wasn’t planning on it..” 

“I mean it, we need both of you.” 

To this, Jon just nodded. Right now they just needed to win, or sleep, or both, but he did feel a sense of relief that Sharpy knew now.

“He looked at you the same way too,” Sharpy then spoke up.

“When you two both wouldn’t admit you had feelings, I gave him the same talk.” Johnny laughed and just shook his head. 

“Of course you did,” was the last thing said between them, and possibly on the whole plane. Slowly the entirety of the roster dozed off, letting it all sink in.

\-------

Set after November 14th shutout win again Coyotes

"Come on Johnny, please," Corey begged. "We won at home, and I don't play until Sunday, Nikolai is starting against the Preds!"

"But...we still have practice and all...I don't want you to be sore or something..." Johnny mumbled. He just knew this wasn't a good idea.

"Johnny, I am a fucking NHL goaltender, not a teenage girl, it doesn't work like that."

"But still..."

"You fucking promised," Corey mumbled, jutting his bottom lip out a little, and Johnny swallowed nervously. 

"You've done it before? Before a game?" 

"Yes," the goalie answered curtly. Johnny sighed and just shook his head, finally agreeing.

"Fine," he said, and Corey's face just lit up. Johnny just kept thinking it was a bad idea. What if Corey did end up starting? I mean he wouldn’t be sore, he was right about that. He’d probably be a little out of routine if anything, which was big for a goaltender, but not big enough for Johnny to break the smile on Corey’s face.

“But no making a habit of sex during the season, okay?” Corey just nodded and chuckled.

“Of course,” the goalie said, just as they pulled up to Johnny’s apartment, the anticipation drowning them both.


End file.
